Ladies in Grey

Ladies in Grey Whilst the vast majority of steam locomotives were painted black, a number of locomotives employed on the more prestigious duties were sometimes painted in more prominent colours such as green, maroon or blue. However a colour not usually associated with steam locomotives was grey.

When a new steam locomotive was completed it was often take outside to pose for its official portrait. However a locomotive painted all black tends not to show at its best in the monochrome (black & white) photography as used at that time. This situation was overcome by temporarily painting the locomotive in a brighter grey colour. Normally the locomotive would revert to a more traditional colour before main line running commenced but like many rules there were exceptions and the two described here are the "Ladies in Grey" of the title.

London & North Eastern Railway W1 No. 10000 The LNER W1 No. 10000 (also known as the Hush-Hush due to its secrecy, and Galloping Sausage before rebuild due to its shape) was an experimental 4-6-4 four cylinder compound steam locomotive fitted with a high pressure water tube boiler. Nigel Gresley was impressed by the results of using high pressure steam in marine applications and so in 1924 he approached Harold Yarrow of shipyard & boilermakers Yarrow & Company of Glasgow to design a suitable boiler for a railway locomotive, based on Yarrow's design. The locomotive was completed at Darlington Works in 1929.

The locomotive had a corridor tender and ran non-stop London to Edinburgh services to time in 1930. Nevertheless steaming was relatively poor during test runs and in spite of a number of modifications initially to the exhaust, boiler performance never reached the standards of an equivalent fire tube boiler. A problem never fully solved was air leakage into the casing.

When it was deemed that no further progress could be made, the locomotive was taken to Doncaster Works in 1936 and rebuilt with a conventional boiler and three simple expansion cylinders on the normal Gresley principle. A modified A4 boiler was fitted which had 50 square feet (4.6 square metres) of grate area and 20 inch (508mm) diameter cylinders. The valves were considered undersized for the large cylinder diameter and this somewhat limited the speed capabilities of the engine. Its haulage capacity was nonetheless appreciated. The rebuilt engine still retained its additional axle, resulting in a more spacious cab for the crew.

No. 10000 never carried a name, although it did carry small works plates on

the smoke deflectors bearing the number 10000. Plans in 1929 to name the original engine British Enterprise were dropped, although nameplates had already been cast. A 1951 plan to name the rebuilt engine Pegasus did not come to fruition either. From 1948 under British Railways it was renumbered 60700.

On 1 September 1955, 60700 had just departed from Peterborough when the front bogie frame broke. The locomotive derailed at a speed of 20 miles per hour (32 km/h) at Westwood Junction. It was recovered and repaired.

60700 was withdrawn on 1 June 1959 and was broken up for scrap at the Doncaster Works later that year.

The 00 scale model illustrated is a superstructure kit by South Eastern Finecast and the running gear is a modified Hornby A3 chassis with a tender drive.

Southern Railway Leader No. 36001 The Southern Railway Leader was a class of experimental 0-6-6-0T (C-C) six cylinder articulated steam locomotive, produced to the design of the innovative engineer Oliver Bulleid. The Leader was an attempt to extend the life of steam traction by eliminating many of the operational drawbacks associated with existing steam locomotives.

It was intended as a replacement for the ageing fleet of M7 class tank engines still in operation on the Southern Railway. Design work began in 1946 and development continued after the nationalisation of the railways in 1948, under the auspices of British Railways.

The Leader project was part of Bulleid's desire to modernise the steam locomotive based on experience gained with the Southern Railway's fleet of electric stock. Bulleid considered that attitudes towards the labour intensity of steam operation had changed during the post war period, favouring dieselisation and electrification. In an effort to demonstrate the continued potential of steam, Bulleid pushed forward the boundaries of steam power, allowing it to compete with diesel and electric locomotives in terms of labour saving and ease of operation.

The design incorporated many novel features, such as the use of thermic siphons and bogies and cabs at either end of the locomotive, resulting in a unique, for a steam locomotive, modern diesel-like appearance. Several of its innovations proved to be unsuccessful however, partly accounting for the project's cancellation in the early 1950s. Five Leader locomotives were begun, although only one was completed. The single operational locomotive was tested on the former Southern Railway network around Brighton. Problems

with the design, indifferent reports on performance and political and media interference surrounding spiralling development costs, led to all five locomotives of the class being scrapped by 1951.

The 00 scale model illustrated was supplied as a ready to run item by Golden Arrow models of Hastings.

Allan Trotter